Representation and Dedication- Call to Action

Climate change is a global problem, but those that are most affected by the consequences of climate change, and those that are least resilient are poor and minority communities. I will not even say it is the Global North or the Global South in this situation because those with the money can obtain clean water, shelter, food, and a way out of the disaster no matter where they live in a lot of cases. This Conference as opposed to others has highlighted the human communities that are depreciated and destroyed as a result of climate change. I look around me and we are all sitting here in this stadium that is difficult to navigate, but that is pretty much the biggest problem we have here in addition to people being stressed due to the demands of their job. We are comfortable. We have clothes on our back, have ways to avoid the cold, have food in our bellies (except for those that are fasting in solidarity with Yeb Sano from the Philippines), and have shelter when we are done with the conference for the day. However, in comparison to those that are suffering in the Philippines that have no access to clean water, food, medicine, and shelter or those that can no longer sustain crops due to drought to feed their families in Sub Saharan Africa we are incredibly blessed. Yet we, as the privileged individuals that get to attend this conference and talk about this issue that most of us do not "experience" in the terrible ways that others are forced to, have the audacity to push back targets to decrease emissions, not contribute financial support to countries that desperately need it, and diminish the importance of this issue in a way that makes it seem unimportant or trivial. As you can tell I am a little upset. This is clearly an urgent issue and countries are not making an effort to act. 

In addition to this, people that I would argue are affected the most by climate change are being barred from having their concerns heard in this conference. This includes developing nations and civil society. Visas from across Africa were denied by the Polish government, and this includes one of our delegates from the Nigerian Youth Climate Coalition. They gave excuses as to why the delegates could not come in including that they did not have a sufficient reason even thought they had accreditation from the UN. In Europe there is concerns about individuals from Africa coming here and staying for work, and because of this concern they were not allowed to attend this UN conference when it is clear that it is a temporary visit, and that these individuals would of course return to their countries after the conference finished. These systematic ways of silencing individuals that have a clear role in negotiations such as these is dangerous to the process, extremely dangerous. A bunch of agreements being made by developed nations with little input from others around the world should be concerning for anyone. 

In addition to this problem that came up during this conference, civil society accreditation was also pushed back. For example, last year our delegation was awarded 20 spots, and this year we were awarded 7. This is a serious concern because this means that we do not have as many people being able to track the negotiations, work on text, build relationships with other groups, and the most important part we are less effective at lobbying our negotiators. The US is a pain in the butt to push to commit to anything in the first place, but could you imagine what would NOT get done if civil society, or citizens in general were not pushing them to commit to something. It could not be done because the only way things get done in the US is if people push politicians hard enough to not maintain the status quo, but to actually make change. Negotiators need reality checks. It can be easy to get lost in the details of the black and white words written on a page, and to only be concerned about that. We are here, as an NGO, to remind them that this is about a bigger picture, and that real people are being affected by this issue every day. People are experiencing extreme weather events, wildfires in the southwest US are getting worse every year, floods are harming local economies, and hurricanes are destroying lives and livelihoods.

Why wouldn't people want cleaner technologies anyway? I really enjoy breathing fresh air, not worrying about getting in a car accident by driving less because I have decent public transportation, and knowing that mountains are not being destroyed in the Appalachian region to turn on our lights at night. 

I am really concerned about our future and how this global dialogue is being approached. We need to be wary and ready to make changes and to ensure that a strong agreement is created in 2015 with all voices being heard. Please spread this message and put pressure wherever you can to make sure that as we move forward we are talking as a global community to create this change. Even doing work on campuses, in your communities, and in your states/provinces can make a world of differences. It starts with one person, but you would be amazed at the impact that you can have if you put a little effort towards it.